KSI-owned Dagenham & Redbridge have become the latest club to partner with an AI-powered squad planning platform.
The YouTuber announced his shock purchase of a stake in the National League South side in March, with the 32-year-old expressing a desire to take the side up the leagues.
Ahead of the summer transfer window, Dagenham & Redbridge have partnered with Gemini Sports, signing a ‘multi-year agreement’.
The company bills itself as a leading provider of AI-powered squad planning and player trading solutions.
Gemini’s platform is aimed at unifying disparate information sources like scouting reports, finance and market research, event and tracking data into one mobile application.
The company claims this will help Dagenham & Redbridge to elevate their talent identification practices with performance tracking and boost squad planning, while they can use other features to manage club governance.
KSI-owned Dagenham & Redbridge have become the latest club to partner with an AI-powered squad planning platform
Clubs can ask Gemini’s app tailored questions about their squad and recruitment, and the app then produces a shortlist of transfer targets that fit what they’re looking for
‘Working with Gemini will allow us to build a recruitment strategy with the club and its values firmly at the centre,’ said Anwar Uddin, Dagenham & Redbridge non-executive chairman.
‘Rather than relying on any one individual’s knowledge or network, Gemini provides us with the tools to institutionalise that expertise across the club, ensuring every decision we make is informed by shared insight, robust intelligence, and the fullest possible picture available to futureproof our recruitment.’
Dagenham & Redbridge have become the latest club to partner with the company, with Championship side QPR having been the first to enlist its services.
The signing of Richard Kone from Wycombe, who has gone on to score 11 goals in 45 matches this season, was said to have been aided by the use of Gemini’s app.
Port Vale, French giants Monaco and Serie A side Como are among other clubs to have partnered with Gemini, who state they have existing partnerships in England, France, Italy, Australia, and the Americas.
The profile around Dagenham & Redbridge has risen dramatically since KSI’s shock investment, with the club now setting about the task of improving on finishing 13th in the National League South.
Outlining his ambitions, he said: ‘It’s surreal, bro, out of this world. The idea of it excites me so much.
‘Years ago, I saw the excitement, the happiness, the joy. I want to bring that back and then surpass it.
‘I want the place to be pumping, I want it to be rocking, I want it to be an event whenever you come here.
Andy Carroll had taken caretaker charge for the final matches of the season, but Dagenham & Redbridge have now appointed Lee Allinson as their permanent boss
‘Playing a video game and owning a football club is very different, I know that, but with Race to Division One (his Fifa YouTube series), it was a journey. It was hard, but in the end, I did it.’
KSI continued: ‘With this club, I want to do the unthinkable. I want to take Dagenham & Redbridge to the Premier League.
‘It’s obviously going to take time, but I’d say the realistic goal is getting out of this league and entering the National League.
‘We need to improve the team, make some additions that really take it to another level, and I want to build the community.’
On Sunday, the club announced Lee Allinson as their first team manager, joining from Hemel Hempstead Town, a fellow National League South side.
Allinson succeeds former Newcastle, Liverpool and West Ham forward Andy Carroll, who had been in caretaker charge after KSI sacked boss Lee Bradbury.
